'The public sector gives you a much larger canvas to work on': Rupinder Brar, Income Tax Commissioner, Mumbai

With over two decades of experience in the public sector, Ms. Brar gave students a refreshing perspective of the field – a field where one can effect change on a much larger canvas and limited resources mean that achievements become all the more sweeter.

In the public sector, innovation needs to be understood in a more holistic way, says Ms. Brar. Innovation can’t always be about tearing down established systems and processes. After all, they are working for a reason. In the video, she says, “You must have the maturity and the ability to sift through and see that there are 10 elements of an older system which may be very robust, which may be very good. Where is the need then to de-learn that?” Instead, one must seek to incorporate new elements into existing systems.

Having personally faced the dilemma of choosing between the challenges of a government job and the cushy comforts of a corporate life, Ms. Brar feels there has been an unnatural demarcation in India between the public and private sector which has more similarities than differences. “It’s not a question of partitioning the two sectors, it’s a question of working together,” says Ms. Brar, adding that while public service cannot ignore profit-making for sustainability, the private sector will stymie your growth if you seek only the selfish gains of a few.

In such a scenario, Ms. Brar identifies a leader as one who is not weighed down by his inheritance but can instead question what he takes over and take on challenges without starting from scratch. Ms. Brar believes management schools can contribute to the development of leaders if they take up the role of inculcating ‘a basic thematics of ethics’ in their students. She defines these thematics as not just consisting of a personal set of ethics but keeping in mind the sustainability of resources and the interests of humanity at large.